Latest in Sports

The Whitecaps may have lost centreback Kendall Waston, but the new group that will replace him are just as defensively imposing.

First disappointment first. There was no Alphonso Davies for Bayern Munich in their Champions League clash with Liverpool on Tuesday.

And while the waves of dismay reverberated across Canada from its epicentre in Vancouver, the rest of the world was left wanting by a much-ballyhooed clash that ended in a flat, scoreless draw, completely bereft of the frenetic helter-skelter Liverpool offence that has rampaged through the Premier League.

The latter sat just fine with Vancouver Whitecaps assistant coach Vanni Sartini. He was busy geeking out on the Reds’ remarkable defensive performance.

“I’m very focused on the defensive part of the game,” he said Tuesday from Los Angeles, where the team watched the game after training, part of their pre-season bonding.

“So when it’s a goalless draw, everyone is bored, but I’m pumped up.”

He watched as Fabinho, a defensive midfielder, stepped in for the suspended Virgil van Dijk in central defence, putting in a superlative showing on a makeshift and injury-riddled back line against one of the top strikers in the world in Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski.

“The performance of Fabinho … he had a fantastic game,” said Sartini. “Sometimes we take video of high-level teams to show to our players what they have to do, and there were two or three sequences from Liverpool that I will definitely use in our video session.”

So that means more film work for his (current) quintet of central defenders in Derek Cornelius, Doneil Henry, Erik Godoy, Jasser Khmiri and Brendan McDonough.

Henry is one of just three defenders from the team that gave up a team-record 67 goals last season, and the only centreback. It’s a near-clean slate to work from, and it’s going to be an entirely new system. The Whitecaps will generally operate out of a 4-3-3 formation, but will also turn to a 3-5-2 at times, depending on the circumstances, and will be prone to giving up crosses because of their defensive philosophy.

“The guys will have to be adaptable to different situations and different systems of play, but always keeping the same principles,” said Sartini. “Our profile of a centreback is one who likes to play (the ball), is able to help the buildup. He doesn’t have to be as skilful as a No. 10 or a winger, but he needs to be able to make some passes and keep composure.”

He pointed to Cornelius’s strong left foot and comfort on the ball as a strength for buildup down the left. Henry’s prowess in the air — he was second in aerial battles per game (5.1) last season, second only to target striker Kei Kamara (8.0) — will be crucial for a team suddenly lacking size compared to previous Whitecaps teams in defending set pieces and crosses. Godoy, who had his first full training session, and Jasser Khmiri, who’s yet to, are both physical, ground-covering centrebacks.

Last year’s defensively porous team gave up goals every way possible, with only one common thread: loose marking. Whether the goals were from distance or on the doorstep, almost all came from a breakdown in positional awareness — and that includes the 11 penalty kicks conceded (nine converted) that led MLS.

The Caps had just two shutouts, fewest in the league, and far behind the Tim Parker-led New York Red Bulls that paced the league with 17. It wasn’t a centreback problem, but a team problem — including goalkeepers Brian Rowe and Stefan Marinovic, who combined for just 94 saves, second-fewest in MLS.

From left, Lass Bangoura, Erik Godoy and Brett Levis run through drills during pre-season training in Los Angeles this week.Whitecaps FC /
PNG

But the 2018 Caps and 2019 edition can’t be compared, with just six regulars returning from that team.

“It’s incomparable with the team of last year — a totally different team — and also in the way we’re playing is different of last year,” said Sartini. “It’s very important to us, the positional defending … the pure zonal defending.

“The idea is that they’re not going to think of themselves as a single defender, but always thinking of themselves as a unit, not only with the other central defenders, but with the fullbacks and the midfielders.

“The main characteristic is about the defending part; we want to be a dynamic team, one that is very, very comfortable, even if we don’t have the ball. We don’t want a static line, we don’t want a line that is dependent on the movement of the opponents, but is much more concentrated on the movement of the ball. For this reason, we scouted defenders that are able to cover ground, are very agile and mobile.”

That seems, so far, to also include McDonough, whom the Caps took 35th in this season’s MLS SuperDraft.

History is weighted heavily against him. The last time any players drafted by the Whitecaps outside the top 10 saw regular minutes with the exception of Tim Parker came way back in the team’s expansion year, when Jeb Brovsky (19th overall) and Michael Boxall (No. 1 in the supplemental draft) saw some spot duty.

“I’ve always had the odds stacked against me,” said the Matthews, N.C., native.

“I wasn’t highly rated going into college and I ended up a two-time captain, all-Big East and All-Region. I’ve always been someone who’s had a chip on their shoulder. Every single team passed on me, teams passed me multiple times in this draft, but coach Dos Santos reaffirmed to me that I was their guy. It’s a good feeling.

“I don’t think too much about the underdog mentality,” he added. “Once you’re with the team, you’re just another one of the guys. It doesn’t matter where you come from; if you can play, you’re going to be welcomed by the group. And we’ll see if the coaching staff feels the same way.”

Working in his favour is the new, condensed, schedule the MLS will use this year, one that sees more mid-week games and the end of the season moved into October. With Henry and Cornelius in team Canada’s international rotation, and Khmiri one of Tunisia’s top young prospects, depth could pose a real issue around the international breaks.

“We are very confident that we created a group of players that … like in every position, can play at a certain level in this league. We want competition,” said Sartini. “(McDonough) is trying to fight for a spot, because we know that the season is going to be long. Sooner or later, we’re going to need everyone.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.